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Giving in to intense pressure from newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Bank of Japan has doubled its inflation target to 2% and obligated itself to an asset-buying program with no upper limit.

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Even with its 2% inflation goal receding into the distant future, the Bank of Japan is unlikely to announce additional stimulus this week, informed sources say. Policymakers are said to be increasingly concerned about their few policy options and the unwanted consequences of the asset-buying program.

Intent on maximizing the effect of its efforts to end deflation and drive the inflation rate up to 2%, the Bank of Japan might combine two of its asset-buying programs, sources said. The move would help the market better understand the size and pace of the central bank's asset purchases. The BOJ also is reportedly considering purchases of riskier assets, including real estate investment trusts and exchange-traded funds.

Haruhiko Kuroda, who has been nominated to run the Bank of Japan, says the central bank isn't buying enough assets to end deflation and raise the inflation rate to 2% within two years. "It would be natural for the BoJ to buy longer-dated government bonds in huge amounts," he said during a parliamentary confirmation hearing.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is adding pressure on the Bank of Japan to back his call for aggressive monetary easing to drive up inflation and stimulate growth. The government could rewrite the law that guarantees the central bank's independence if the bank doesn't reach a 2% inflation target, Abe said.